This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of the Registry is: 1) To identify large numbers of subjects who have alopecia areata or more severe forms (alopecia totalis and universalis). 2) To select specific groups of well-characterized subjects for detailed clinical data, dermatoligist's exam, lab studies, digital photos of the scalp, sera samples, white blood cells, and DNA. Individual patients, sib-pairs, and multiplex families from the United States with well-characterized alopecia areata, AT or AU will be entered. Thte data will be placed in a relational database and the samples will be banked for future research studies. 3) To provide data and samples to test the hypothesis that AA is a multigenic trail and request the interaction of several genes for full expression (AU/AT) plus an environmental trigger factor. 4) To conduct association studies that compare differences in precent frequency of alleles of genes including HLA in the different phenotypes of AA. 5) To examine the inheritance markers with AA in sib-pairs and multiplex families with multiple affected individuals. Only a natinoal registry can provide the type of resources needed to collect this large number of patient material. The GCRC will aid this project by providing clinical availability to accomodate the large number of participants, minimize the cost to participants involved in the registry, and streamline the data collection in clinic. The data will still be processed and analyzed at the central site in Houston, TX.